Sen. Alexander suggests gas tax increase to fill transit fund gap

After hearing about local budget woes, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander said in Shelby County on Thursday that federal transportation dollars may be leveling off or dropping slightly over the next five years.

Alexander made the prediction as Congress tackles the federal deficit. "The federal government is borrowing 40 cents for every $1 it spends," he said, adding that it must stop.

"State and local governments will have to decide whether to have an increase in the gasoline tax," Alexander said after meeting with Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell and several suburban mayors and city managers at Germantown Municipal Center. By doing so, he added, tourists and truckers would "pay for a big share of it."

When he was Tennessee governor, Alexander said, his administration got bipartisan support and completed several state road projects in the 1980s without federal transportation dollars.

Alexander sits on the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works, which will be discussing how much money should be set aside for federally funded road projects in the Federal Highway Trust Fund.

Much of the federal transportation dollars that are sent to the states and the regional Metropolitan Planning Organization are either funded completely or with an 80 percent match in federal dollars and 20 percent in state or local dollars.

The local officials gave the Tennessee senator an overview of their cities' budgets and what federal programs they depend on.

Both Joyner and Goldsworthy told the senator that they depend heavily on federal transportation dollars.

"Germantown could never afford to expand Wolf River Boulevard without those federal dollars," Goldsworthy said. The project is expected to cost $18.7 million.

When asked about increasing the state gasoline tax, Joyner said afterward, "Jiminy Christmas. Gas is high enough and is taxed enough. I don't see that as a solution to our problem. If there are cuts or if they (federal officials) keep more, it puts a greater burden on us. It means we have an aging infrastructure with no funds to do anything about it."

In addition to transportation dollars, Luttrell said, he's worried about fewer state and federal dollars for funding about 40 percent of the county health department's budget. Without such support, Luttrell said, "It will seriously jeopardize our public health programs."

After the meeting, he said any non-mandated programs such as infant mortality or teenage pregnancy programs will be under "close scrutiny for cuts."

The county is looking at finding $23 million in cuts from the county's $1.2 billion budget.

Regarding Alexander's comments, Luttrell said, "He paints a bleak picture on the federal level. But I appreciate his candor."

Based on the extent of any transportation dollars being cut, Luttrell added, "I'm not counting on the state to pick up the slack."